2/04/2004 @ 4:30PM

The Open Source World

Rob Soni, a venture capitalist with Matrix Partners in Waltham, Mass., backed a bunch of equipment makers during the telecom boom. Now he’s looking for another windfall, courtesy of open source software.

When most people think about open source, they usually think of the free Linux operating system, which is developed and maintained by a worldwide network of collaborators. But Soni is looking for companies that develop open source applications and databases.

Many software companies are already prospering by developing open source software and services. One of the better-known “pure plays” is
Red Hat Software
, which provides support services for Linux. Behemoths such as
IBM
and
Hewlett-Packard
say Linux products and services have added billions to their top lines.

Next up, according to Soni, will be the applications and database software that run on top of Linux. He sees movement in the industry that supports his premonition.
Novell
has begun to tilt toward open source, buying the German company SUSE Linux.

Red Hat recently purchased storage software maker Sistina and vowed to make it open source.

The most popular open source database (with more than four million users) is made by a company called MySQL, which has been venture-backed since 2001. Benchmark Capital led the latest round in May, 2003.

Ultimately, Soni said, open source will become mainstream, not just the domain of “the four pony-tailed guys in the corner.”